Breast Reconstruction with Perforator Flaps

Depending on the shape of your body and your personal preference, several areas of the body can act as a donor sites for flaps used in breast reconstruction. The Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator, or DIEP flap, which uses excess tissue from the lower abdomen, is the most commonly used perforator flap for breast reconstruction. Flap options for breast reconstruction include:

The skin and fat of the inner thigh can also be used to reconstruct breasts with a natural feel and appearance. Though not technically a perforator flap, this reconstructive procedure is not associated with any loss of function or hernia formation, and consequently is often thought to be like a perforator flap.

The TDAP flap can be rotated from the upper back in to a position on the chest wall for use in breast reconstruction. This perforator flap is well suited for use in partial breast reconstruction and oncoplastic procedures.

The Stacked DIEP flap allows a woman to have a breast reconstructed with significantly more tissue than is possible using other methods of natural-tissue reconstruction that use the abdomen as a donor site. This technique would be considered for a woman who requires a large breast to be shaped to match her remaining breast, or for a woman who is very thin and would not have sufficient natural tissue for a regular DIEP flap reconstruction.